


Rogue

by katasonic



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Shingeki no Kyojin: Kuinaki Sentaku | Attack on Titan: No Regrets, ereri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-28
Packaged: 2018-05-16 16:56:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5833345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katasonic/pseuds/katasonic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The titans have vanished completely, leaving no desire to keep supporting the Scout Regiment or Garrison.  With no where else to go, and no other way to keep himself sane, Levi Ackerman joins the Military Police, using the crime of Up State New York to keep himself under control.<br/>But when he meets a young street fighter, he finds a new purpose, something that he promised he would never allow. Friendship turns to protection, which turns to love quicker than Levi expects, and when the Titans finally return, Levi's world comes crashing down.<br/>Set in the 1920's, Attack on Titan's Levi Ackerman and Eren Jaeger are pulled into the modern world where they'll have to fight for their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

  
**Prologue**  
November 14th, 1922  
UpState New York 

 

_Attention:  
"Please remember that all 3D Maneuvering devices have been banned from civilian and military use, being that there is no longer a need for them. Using and/or owning one of these devices will result in confiscation and arrest. Please be mindful with your actions."_

"They'll be fucked when Titan's start roaming the city and we'll have nothing better to do than to serve our asses up on silver platters. Fucking Military swine won't know how to deal. I'd love to see that day. It would make headlines! 'Military soldier pisses self in front of nine meter'!" A frenzy of chuckles and smirks eventually filled the small tavern. Everyone was accustomed to these out bursts from 'Elias the great'. Ever since the removal of the Regiment and the Garrison, he was the one folks sought out to publicly shame the politicians too ignorant to admit their faults.  


"I don't think I ever remember you confronting a Titan, let alone kill one." The tavern silenced, every set of eyes now on the table that was only ever occupied by one man. Levi Ackerman's thumb pressed against the curve of a spoon, bending it to a perfected right angle. He'd been coming to this tavern for years, using it's cheap liquor and even cheaper women to wash away his grief. The usual idiots had never bothered him enough to provoke a reaction, but then again, the usual's didn't always know when to stop.  
He'd left his table, jacket still slung loosely over the back of his chair, and made his way to the center of the bar, eyes grimly fixed on Elias' reddening face. Levi wasn't always one for public confrontations. He certainly didn't look the part at least. Only standing at about 5'3, he didn't seem like much, but then again, no one ever bothered him enough to see what the has been captain could truly do. No longer able to wear his Regiment Uniform, he had stuck with fitting trousers and shirts that were just as tight. If you didn't know him from before, you'd say he was a newspaper boy.  


Standing a respectable distance from Elias, Levi remained silent for a brief moment, anticipating his options. Attack points, verbal, emotional and physical damage that could be inflicted. Not only that, but how would Elias react? Whatever was decided in the bulking head, Levi would be ready. "You quit the Garrison. You quit the Garrison after two months. The two months, might I add that the Titans had begun to vanish. The most you've seen of a titan was from Subject Trey and Subject Dolly. Remember them? The Titan's we'd captured alive who we were testing on. It was mandatory to witness an experiment. To take notes and be able to report coherently on the events and the results. And what did you do, Elias? Why don't you tell all of these people what you did..."  
Elias was up from his seat in a matter of seconds, his body fuming, his steps echoing in the silent tavern. "You watch your tone with me, Ackerman! Just because you had the uniform doesn't mean it applies anymore!"  


"You cried. You collapsed. Rolled into a ball. Cried some more. I don't even think we'd begun testing. You simply walked into the room and were done. I've seen female recruits with more balls than you." Levi's tone remained nonchalant, almost as if he were bored of the conversation already. Even after mention of his past, he remained solid, focusing on grinding this idiot into a blank slate.  


"You little shit!" Elias screamed, pulling his fist back and releasing, confident that he would be able to shut Levi up. But where Levi lacked size, Elias lacked collective thinking and intelligence. Levi simply stepped to the side, catching Elias' wrist in his hand and twisting his arm backwards. With one swift leg sweep, Elias was on the floor with Levi pressing his knee into the back of his neck, pushing harder and harder until his lips were level with his ear.  
"Next time you think it would be funny to joke about something like this, I want you to think about all of the people that died defending your life, and how you did nothing but abandon them when they needed you most. It will happen again. They're not done. They're never done. But I hope that when it does decide to happen, you will be the first one to be served on that so called 'silver platter'." A final blow and Elias was left drooling on the floor, his nose bleeding considerably. Levi stood with ease, straightening his clothes before walking back to his table. He emptied his glass, placed a bill beneath it and slung his jacket over his shoulder. By now, the tavern was standing, watching him with anticipating eyes. Some nodded their approval, always looking at him as their illustrious Captain. Others, averted their eyes in fear. But most looked to him in disgust. While he'd blamed Elias for abandoning his people, Levi was no different. He didn't fight for the regiment. He didn't fight for his quadrant, for his friends... his family. He left them. Left them to wonder who Levi Ackerman truly was. 


	2. The Fighter

  
_November 20th, 1922  
Downtown NYC_

2:00 a.m. Not exactly the time of day that Levi preferred to work. But strangely enough, there was purpose behind the madness. A warehouse on the wrong side of town was operating a fight club, an extreme crime in the country ever since the rebuild. Levi couldn't blame them. A majority of the fighters were past Regiment and Garrison members. Usually the ones stricken with some form of PTSD. Without titans, people didn't really know how to release their stress or distract themselves, and because of that, Levi could relate. At times, he wondered why he didn't fall victim to the violence. Only god knew how much he would take pleasure from it.  


On a night like this, Levi had told himself that he wouldn't harm the criminals... much. No one would really notice if one of them happened to get stuck between the floor and his boot. The thought made him smirk. "Oy, Ackerman! Something funny?" Jarrett, Military Police squad leader, was standing in the center of their small group, watching Levi with a teasing expression. Regardless of the current ranks, Levi knew Jarrett was always jealous of his past, something that wasn't really worth being jealous of. But the captain still fawned over it, going out of his way to let Levi know that he was beneath him. He never really cared in the first place. Resting against the wall, he was determined to not give Jarrett the satisfaction. If anything, he'd flip the mocking tone, gaining the attention and using it for his own good. His eyes flashed in anticipation, ready to strike and rip that confidence right from beneath this imbocile. But he didn't. He looked up at the sky, crossing his arms loosely over his chest in defiance. That was enough to get beneath Jarrett's skin. He put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes, looking to the man standing next to Levi. "Aye, Gunther, what's wrong with your boyfriend tonight? He seems like more of a hard ass than usual."  


Gunther was a member of the regiment, taken directly from Levi's personally selected team. When the Scout had been deleted, Gunther was the only one that had followed Levi, refusing to leave his friend so soon. But following him came the boyfriend comments, which didn't bother him as much as they should. He knew Gunther had a family, one that Levi adored, but he never bothered to correct the jokes. They knew the truth, and that was all that mattered. "Honestly, Jarrett, would you drop it? It's 2:00 a.m and we're all sorry you lost your deposit on your hooker, but really, do you have to give everyone else a hard time?" The group snickered silently to one another, keeping their eyes away from Jarrett, whose neck burned a bright crimson. "Wh-Wh-... Just stick to the mission. The sooner we get rid of this crowd the better." he growled and turned his back to them, stalking off.  


"You really should just show him up. Just once." Gunther grumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets and kicking a stray pebble. "That's all it would take. Just one time to let him know who's boss... Remind him who Levi Ackerman-"  


"Stop."  


"But, Levi..."  


"I said enough. We don't have time to settle on that now. The sooner we clean out this filth, the better." He stepped away from the wall, not sparing Gunther a single glance before following after Jarrett and the others.

****  


No one seemed to pay mind to the soldiers pushing there way through the crowds. People weren't exactly threatened by Jarrett's imposing blonde curls. But what Levi couldn't understand was something completely different. He could care less about the assholes shoving the soldiers out of there way, but why was the room so hot? And more importantly, why was the center of it steaming? "Levi...? Levi!" Gunther shouted, shaking his friend's shoulder. How long had that been happening?  


"What is it?" he looked up, feeling the room spin around him.  


"You just... I don't know. You just went into some kind of trance. We were headed to the ring but when I turned around you were gone." Gunther hadn't released his hands from Levi's shoulders.  


"Don't worry about me, honestly." his voice came off a bit more harsh than he'd expected, but he pushed it aside and rushed to the center of the room. Yes. The ring. That's where the steam was coming from. There had to be... Nothing. There was just a kid. A random kid, fighting with another guy, kicking his ass to be exact. His eyes were crazed, and his body... His body was steaming, creating enough to cover the ceiling. "So it wasn't a Titan..." he mumbled to himself, looking up at Jarrett who stood next to him, laughing. 

"A Titan, Levi? Really? Get your head out of the Regiment. Titan's have been gone for years. They aren't coming back." he continued to laugh. By now, Gunther had made his way up to the fence, looking down into the pit. "Aren't you going to stop it, Jarrett? Isn't that your job? That's why we're here, so go on. Get to work." Jarrett's hand brushed away Gunther's words "I've got the others working on it. We're finding the owner and shutting this place down."  


"Last time I checked, you weren't involved to make this a 'we' effort." Gunther grumbled, leaning away from the cage to watch Levi leave.  


"Levi? Levi?!"  


He'd begun to follow, but by the time he'd even made it a few steps away, Levi had disappeared into the crowd.  


"Nice one. You just had to go off being a prick didn't you? Don't you ever know when to stop?" Gunther scolded Jarrett, paying little attention to the curses Jarrett had begun to say about Levi. He was tired of listening to this idiot. "You know, if only Levi wou-... Levi..." he mumbled and pressed himself against the gate, looking down into the pit as a corner door opened and Levi sauntered out.  


"Jesus Christ, Gunther, what the hell is he doing?" Jarrett was just as attentive, eager to truly see what had gotten into him.

Just as casually as he'd walked in, Levi made his way over to the fighters, watching with boredom as the steaming teenager continued to stomp on his victims ribs. He stood behind the kid, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched. He'd let him have his victory, if only for a few minutes. "Why not just kill him now? Is there really any point in continuing on with this joke?" The boy stopped, mid swing, and turned his head. "Did they send me a second?" his mouth twitched into a smile, responding how any fighter would the roaring crowd urging him to begin another death match. "A second? Did they really ever send you a first?" Levi's posture remained slack, his eyes blank. He watched the boy, anticipating what would happen next. He was wild. Not himself. In some hallucinogen of a world where everything was viewed through the eyes of a monster. Just like Levi. The thought almost made him smile. Almost. "Why don't you just leave the ring now, clean up, and no one will get hurt."  


The boy laughed with a harsh tone. "No one will get hurt? Are you threatening me?"  


"I'm trying to make you a promise. A light promise. But a promise."  


"No thanks." he stepped forward again, holding his hands up in a fighting stance.  


"I'm going to ask you again. Leave the ring and don't come back." Not exactly asking, but you had to be stern with kids.  


"Not the answer I was looking for." The kid growled and charged, shooting his fist forward with alarming speed. Not quick enough for Levi to not be expecting it. He stepped to the side, watching the kid stumble, but not fall. "Alright." Levi sighed and removed his jacket, tossing it to a moderately clean corner of the pit. He rolled up his sleeves and removed a knife from his thigh, holding it blade down. As expected, the boy charged again, this time, moving Levi to get closer to the wall. His mistake. Again. Twisting out of his line, Levi waited for the thump of weight on stone before he turned around, pressing his body against the boys back. He held the knife at the side of his throat, his lips falling just below his opponents ear. "Now... You're going to leave, or I'm going to make this very slow." he mumbled, his breathing steady and collected against the rushing beat of the boy's heart. Without bothering to wait for an answer, he grabbed a scruff of his messy brown hair and pulled him away from the wall, pushing him towards the door. The crowd booed and hissed, throwing their empty bottles and mugs into the pit, but Levi continued his walk, his grip firm and the knife still pressed dangerously close to the kid's spine. As he'd walked through the door, he could hear Jarrett shouting for everyone to clear out. Whether they listened or not, Levi wasn't sure.

****  


"Seriously, Levi! What the hell? I can't believe you just interrupted a pit fight, well, actually, I can. I can completely believe that. But what did you even do to the kid? Shouldn't we have brought him in for questioning?" Gunther was vivid, even at 6:00 a.m and with no sleep. He'd practically begged Levi to come home with home, attempting to bribe him with Petra's homemade breakfast. But Levi had simply brushed him off.  
"I let him go. I didn't see a point in punishing him for issues that he is clearly burdened with. That isn't my place." he absently touched his sleeves, not being able to ignore the blood that stained them. Sure, he may not have brought this kid in, but did he rough him up a bit? Of course.  


They'd reached Levi's apartment, and as he'd started to walk up the steps, Gunther cleared his throat. "You know. Petra is still expecting you at thanksgiving this year. You can't always avoid holidays, Levi. It's just like avoiding family." They stood in silence for a few short moments, before Levi simply opened his door, stepped inside, and locked it behind him. 

****  


Alone. It seemed to become one of Levi's favorite words. In his small apartment, he found serenity in being alone. There was nothing to hurt you. No one to lose. After his night, and his talk with Gunther, he found himself leaning against the door, staring at the room.  
It was a studio, with a large bed, a kitchen, a closet, and only a room for the bathroom. His walls were lined with book shelves that were organized so neatly, you'd think there was a secret hatch behind them. The other members of the military police had chosen the upscale route. Apartments in the city, or large townhouses just outside. Levi liked the simple things. He craved the simple things.  


Walking into the center of the room, he'd stripped his soiled shirt, tossing it into the garbage can before he'd grasped the counter and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. 'It's just like avoiding family.'  
Why did this always happen? Why did Gunther always make him feel so... wrong? Like he was being a terrible person for trying to help himself. "You just don't understand..." he growled and dug his nails into the counter, listening to it creak under the pressure. A knock was the only thing that could have broken his thoughts at this point, and that's exactly what he had gotten. A quick rap on his door. At this hour? He didn't get visitors. People knew not to bother him, especially after a raid. Reluctantly, he went to answer it.  
In front of the door, he stopped a moment, looking at himself in the mirror. His body was rough with edges, sharp and chiseled almost to something of art. A few scars were accurately placed across his chest and back, and he had a story for every single one of them.  


The knock again.  


"Did you ever stop to think that maybe somebody wasn't-" He stopped once he opened the door and got a complete look at the person standing there. The teenager. The one from the warehouse. His first instinct was to grab a weapon, but at this point, it would be too late. 'Don't show weakness', he told himself, closing the door a bit more. "I can't say I'm not surprised. Did you come to finish what was started?"  


The boys face was beaten, not enough to look ugly, but he had a sizable gash in his lip and a cut above his eyebrow that was still dripping a bit of blood. "You... you left your jacket at the warehouse. I saw that you left with that other soldier, so I followed you. I figured you'd want it back." he held out the jacket, folded so the symbol was facing Levi, staring him directly in the face. The wild look in the boy's eyes had vanished, and Levi couldn't help but wonder what had caused it in the first place. He opened the door a bit more, looking up and down the hallway before taking the jacket from him. "You need to head home." he said flatly, gripping the jacket at his side. The look of disappointment in his eyes made Levi's eyebrow twitch in curiosity. He had so many questions. But it wasn't the time, and it never would be. "Go home." he said again, beginning to close the door. Shockingly enough, the kid stopped him, his palm pressing firmly on the door. "I can't. Not now... Isn't it the job of the military police to protect civilians?"  
What was he getting at? That Levi take him in? He had to be fucking nuts. "I don't have any business with that. What the military police do is on their own accord, not mine."  


"Your jacket says differently."  


Now he was pushing it. Levi's eyes closed for a moment. Whatever he was thinking would come back to bite him in the ass soon enough. He opened the door wide enough for him to enter and stepped to the side, his eyes still closed. The kid walked in, clothes soaked and torn, looking like he'd been chewed up and spit out, which he might as well have been. When Levi closed the door, he looked at the boy standing in the middle of the room. "Aren't military police supposed to live... lavishly?"  
"Only the douche bags and whore fuckers." Levi spat, walking to the bed to set down his uniform. "Honestly, if you're going to be here for some time, you're going to need to bathe and change. I can't deal with your filth in my house." his nose scrunched as if he'd smelled something rancid. "Go bathe, and I'll figure out clothes." He was surprised when the boy agreed immediately, going straight to the bathroom and closing the door. It took Levi a moment to process. He didn't have anything dangerous in there right? No drugs, a razor, and a fuck ton of bleach and cleaning supplies. The kid shouldn't be too suicidal anyways.

****  


It was hard for Levi to keep awake while the kid showered. He was taking a terribly long time, and when he'd knocked on the door to hurry him out, the kid complained over how filthy he was. Now Levi sat in a chair next to the window, his cheek pressed firmly against his cheek while he dozed. His first in a long line of mistakes.  
He'd woken suddenly, the shower off and the room now damp and steamy from the condensation. It took only a moment for his eyes to adjust before he jumped up, snatching the cloak from the boys hand. "I see you helped yourself to my wardrobe." he growled, having noticed his khaki trousers and white button up before he turned his back on the kid. His statement was ignored, and he could feel the questionable eyes drilling holes into his back. 

"Who are you?"


End file.
